Quiltblogger

About Me

Welcome to an inside look at how this Professional quilt designer keeps life interesting.
Quilting has changed my life in so many ways and I get the most joy out of inspiring others!
I started NESTLINGS by Robin in 2004 and you can view my published quilt patterns at www.nestlingsbyrobin.com

Monday, December 31, 2018

These posts are my January "Happy New Year" posts since starting the blog and you can see that I didn't make it every year:)So great to see what has been accomplished and how I have changed. We should keep learning and evolving. Who knows what 2019 will bring to each of us but I know we have the courage to face it, learn it, accept it, change for the better. 20172016

Sunday, December 30, 2018

When you vend at Houston, they open the quilt exhibit up to you during Market and early on Festival days to give Vendors an opportunity to see the gorgeous quilts. The level of workmanship and creativity is not to be missed. This year I did not get an opportunity to go see all the lovelies. I was there to work after all….SIGH!

One of my favorite things about this is the setting. The show is beautifully hung on black drapes and though the room is massive the lighting makes it feel intimate somehow. There isn't the garish overhead lighting but more spot lighting to highlight the quilt you are looking at. As you walk through the doors from the Market floor with all its noise and craziness you suddenly feel as if you walked into a library or church: The sound is different and the mood ambient.

Then there are the quilts! IQF does a fantastic job of having something for everyone and this year was no exception.

Below are a few bits from the 2017 show....

The Sue Garman Exhibit was Fantastic! It is sad that we lost her last year but her fans are grateful that her body of work will live on to show future quilters of her artistry!!

Saturday, December 29, 2018

Yesterday I was at my friend, Brenda Grampsas' house and we started reviewing the upcoming Quilt Show season here in Florida. January, February, and March are very busy down here and her appraisal schedule gets very full which also means my schedule since I have been her little shadow for 2 years now:)I have tagged along to over 10 shows and seen hundreds of quilts!Thankfully the "overload" exhaustion that used to accompany these trips has waned and I can enjoy the pure exhilaration over seeing so many quilts.

Here is Brenda in her appraisal booth in Jacksonville, FL 2016. This was the first time I tagged along to see what it was all about:)

Here was my appraisal booth at the Manatee 2018 show. This was my first solo booth and the ladies were lovely! The quilt on the back wall is my design that was published in Quiltmaker and titled, "Love in Bloom". The quilt top on the table I found in a shop. The red/green was sweet and the design intrigued me. After some research, I found out the design name is "Ragged Robin"- LOLOL!!

I will always have it with me now!

This February I will be out on my own again as I keep training for my test this coming August. This is both thrilling and terrifying but I am ready for my new adventure in this wonderful world of Quilting!

If you have some treasures that need valuing (and you live in Florida:), I am just an email away....

Friday, December 28, 2018

These are being ordered this week!!!! I am SO Excited to have these ready for the FABRIC COLLABORATIONS workshop! I know going in that the biggest hurdle is going to be all those that feel they can't draw. We aren't aiming for art gallery expertise in one shot. We are aiming for getting out of your comfort zone enough to see the possibilities and be excited to keep trying to create for yourself.Years ago I wrote a lecture titled, ALL AROUND US, and there were quite a few blank stares from the audience so I put it away temporarily until I could focus it more. The tools and ideas for Fabric Collaborations are intriguing and exciting! There is something so exhilarating about being around a group of creatives all bouncing ideas off one another.Have you ever asked a 'how to' question in a group of women??We all have opinions and one is bound to be the answer:)If you like new, different, experimental, and collaborative play, this is the workshop for you!

Monday, December 24, 2018

Here is my sweet Angel from the very first tree that Jim and I had together as a married couple in 1988. I am just as stunned as you that she is still in one piece and lights up! Ten military moves (2 of those overseas) and she didn't get demolished. Hopefully she lasts forever because I haven't ever seen another I like as much as her:)

Six years after our first Christmas I am working at Michaels and surrounded by inspiration. I had always wanted one of those beautiful white and red department store trees but on a Very Limited budget wasn't sure how to make that happen. One year these were the ornaments on sale ($2.99 each in 1994) and I knew I could replicate them. Cheap beaded garland, poinsettia flower picks, gold cording, and a glue gun produced enough ornaments for a whole tree;) Pretty sure all of these cost half what it would have cost to buy them done. I have owned these for 24 years and they are still lovely.

Poke some sprigs of larger flowers and berries in and this tree goes up very quickly:) The small ball ornament is one of 5 left from our original set of ornaments from that first Christmas too.

I will put them on until there are none left. It wouldn't be the same without them!

It also wouldn't feel decorated here without some lovely red and green quilts to adorn the entryway.

Sunday, December 23, 2018

I try to do an annual clean up where I purge some items but it is never enough.

This time of year seems to remind me of the excess that I have and sometimes makes me want to ditch it all until I start going through things. Then it is a scene right out of Steve Martin's "The Jerk".

If you don't know the movie, the, "All I need" scene is sort of sad but funny at the same time and whenever I start to get rid of things, I hear him in my head saying, "except this".....

Saturday, December 22, 2018

2. & 3. What happens in Vegas BABY:) In the post I didn't show my new tattoo. My girlies and I decided to get one to celebrate my 50th and when matching mother/daughter tattoos were suggested, I admit I got a bit worried! I didn't want anything too mushy that we may regret later. My youngest (when asked what she had in mind) said she assumed I would design one for us...my heart swelled with joy that they are so proud of me!! My mind went immediately to my tulips designs (what a surprise:) and then to my new "Robin's Wreaths" tulip which had 3 flowers. I tweaked it a bit so that it had more of a circular look. We each have the same with each having something a bit different too!! Mine has the little dots.

Middle row is November.

1. I am at Market with my new line of Tulip Stencils with Quilting Creations, a great company to work with. On the link page you will see a couple of tulip designs starting with RK4...

2. To and from Market I was able to get some Autumn Color absorbed into my being.

3. Once home I finalized the description for my new Workshop, FABRIC COLLABORATIONS. There are a couple of summer openings left in 2019 and the 2020 calendar is open for bookings now:) Tell your program chair!

Bottom row is December and I don't have any Great pics...YET:)

In the meantime you can enjoy a past pic of my Christmas tree. I love how simple it is and that those ornaments have lasted so long!

There is still another week to the year and I hope to wind things up with a few fun moments. You?